The 40th annual Johnny Appleseed Festival this weekend

The 40th annual Johnny Appleseed Festival is this weekend.

From the Johnny Appleseed Festival website:

DATES and TIMES:
Saturday September 20th, 2014 – 10am – 6pm
Sunday September 21st, 2014 – 10am – 5pm

LOCATION:
Johnny Appleseed Park and Archer Parks, Fort Wayne Indiana

OPENING CEREMONY: Join us Saturday at 10:00 AM near the grave marker where an Infantry Company will be hoisting and saluting the flag simultaneously with a cannon firing on the river.

FESTIVAL PARKING:
FREE parking is available on the Indiana/Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) campus off of Coliseum Blvd. and the Concordia High School tennis court parking lot on N. Anthony Blvd. Buses to the festival grounds run continuously at no charge from IPFW and Concordia High School. Parking is available in the Memorial Coliseum Parking lot for a fee.

There is NO admission fee for this family fun weekend event.

FESTIVAL SHOPPING BAGS:
Johnny Appleseed Festival bags, provided by Meijer, are available adjacent to the information tent.

JOHNNY APPLESEED GRAVESITE MARKER:
Visit this historic landmark and see the landscaping restoration project undertaken by the Johnny Appleseed Festival.

FESTIVAL SOUVENIRS:
Visit the information tent to purchase a festival mug, Johnny Appleseed reusable bag, or a music CD recorded at previous festivals!

COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE OF WORSHIP:
Join us for a Christian Worship Service Sunday morning at the Festival Stage beginning at 10:00 AM.

JOHN CHAPMAN’S FAITH:
Join us Sunday morning at 10:30 on the Festival Stage to learn more about John Chapman’s faith. John was a member of the Swedenborgian Church, a Christian faith studying the Bible and the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772).

ANTIQUES & PRIMITIVES:
Wander back to the “good ole days” in our antiques and collectibles market, where carefully selected dealers offer all varieties of treasures.

SETTLERS’ PIONEER VILLAGE AND COUNTRY STORE:
Visit Settlers, a founder of the festival, as they prepare authentic pioneer recipes of beef stew, chicken corn chowder, and ham & beans. Watch as they bake cornbread in dutch ovens and serve with butter. Quench your thirst with sassafras tea or lemonade. Sliced apples with caramel sauce are available.

Period craftsmen share the history and beauty of their trades with spinning and wood carving demonstrated daily. Hand crafted items are available at the country store. Settlers’ use the proceeds from the festival to pay for the restoration and upkeep of the historic Swinney Homestead.

DEMONSTRATORS’ ENCAMPMENT:
Savor the heat from a blacksmith’s fire and the sounds of a hand-made dulcimer. Watch as the potter transforms clay into a bowl and the basket weaver bends her hardwood boughs onto a complex frame.

Visit this artists’ festival within a festival and experience the beauty and integrity of crafts as they were made in the 1800’s.

FOOD VENDORS:
Enjoy the tastes and smells as these vendors cook over open fires in a manner that you would have found in the 1800’s. In addition to making some tasty treats, each of these food vendors has pledged a portion of their profits to next year’s Johnny Appleseed Festival. Most will channel the rest of their profits back into our community. Now that’s good eating!

TRADERS’ MARKET:
You’ll find a chance to do some old time horse trading with some new-fangled goods. See how they lived on the trail and enjoy their stories of fur trading.

CHILDREN’S AREA:
Designed especially for school age children and their families. Gather along the river for this collection of pioneer games, crafts, rides and entertainment.

LIVING HISTORY ENCAMPMENT:
Head towards the river to see the infantry, artillery, and civilian life as it was during the 1812 era, Revolutionary War, and Civil War. Hear the crack of the cannons and see demonstrations of musket firing, period toys, cooking and even medical procedures.

OUR MISSION:

• To plan, operate and administer the annual Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• To provide a historically authentic recreation of the time of Johnny Appleseed and the period in which he lived.
• To educate and stimulate historical interest among the general public in order to promote a better understanding of Johnny Appleseed, his life and his times.

Each year the people of Fort Wayne invite visitors from throughout the nation to celebrate the pioneer spirit of John Chapman, better known as “Johnny Appleseed,” Chapman was a colorful character of the Indiana frontier in the early 1800’s.

During the latter part of his life, Chapman traveled the countryside on foot, planting orchards in Fort Wayne and surrounding areas. In the process, he became a national folk hero and his gravesite memorial area in Fort Wayne’s Archer Park has been designated a National Historic Place and is identified as such on the National Register of Historic Places.

Download a brochure about the Festival: page 1 | page 2

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